The Monthly Dragon - Chris used our last lesson to win!

by Arne Kaehler
5/31/2023 – On our last show, we checked out a very popular Dragon line in the Yugoslav Attack. And just a couple of days later, Chris had a similar game on the board. So, now the British GM had the choice to carry on with his suggested idea, or use a more active move. Well, you might have already guessed what Chris did, right? This game turned into a typical Dragon beauty, full of tactics, and surprising ideas. | Photo: John Upham

Sicilian Dragon: The Real Deal! Part 1,2 and 3 + Sicilian Dragon Powerbook + Powerbase Sicilian Dragon: The Real Deal! Part 1,2 and 3 + Sicilian Dragon Powerbook + Powerbase

In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

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The Monthly Dragon

with GM Chris Ward

The British Grandmaster Chris Ward is always delighted if he can play his favourite opening as Black: the Sicilian Dragon.

Ward's knowledge about this strong opening is covered in several of his books, his blog on chesspublishing, and his three, greatly popular FritzTrainers in our ChessBase shop.

Sicilian Dragon: The Real Deal! Part 1-3

In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

With the new ChessBase series "The Monthly Dragon", the passionate Salsa dancer is showing us the newest tactics, plans, and development of this fascinating opening.

Lucky for us, the dragon is an opening, played by some of the best players in the world. This means, Chris probably won't run out of fuel for new content.

Full analysis by Chris Ward

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 e5 13.Bc5 Be6 14.Ne4 Re8 15.h4 h5 In this old main line, by far the most common continuation is 15...h6 16.g4 Qc7 and then either 17 h5 g5 or else 17.g5 h5 Basically White gets the choice of which squares to bind down on but either way at least Black keep the lines to his king closed. 16.Bc4 My inspiration for this game was the 16.g4 Nf4 17.g5 Bd5 18.Qe3 Qa5 19.a3 Ne6 20.Bb4 Qb6 21.Re1 c5!? 21...f5 being the cute alternative and note 22.gxf6 Bh6 22.Nxc5 Nxc5 23.Bxc5?! Qb7 as in the Lobanov,S (2545)-Tan Zhongyi (2530) covered in April's Dragon monthly The obvious disadvantage of Black's last move is that it leaves White with access to the g5-square. Nevertheless the whole concept of 16.Ng5 Rb8 Pinning with 16...Bh6!? is very possible too. 17.Nxe6 Rxe6 18.Bc4 is too slow and Black is doing very well after the e4!? that re-introduces the Dragon bishop to the action on b2 i.e. before White had the chance to offer cover with Bb3.. Now for example 19.c3 e3! 20.Qc2 e2! 21.Bxe2 Qa5 22.Ba3 Nxc3 would be crushing. 16...Qc7 I certainly hadn't been expecting this opening and had no idea how deeply my opponent had prepared. He had however whipped out 16 Bc4 fairly quickly and so I decided to have a big think and try and come up with something different. Hence the text looking to keep the queens on for now and bring a rook to the d-file. 16...Nf4 i.e. 17.Bxe6 Nxe6 or 18.Qc3 or 18.Qb4 Qc7 with 18.Qxd8?! Rexd8 being an equal endgame. 18...Qc7 or 18...Qb8!? threatening ...f5. 19.Bd6 and with options for the black queen, a complex game likely! 17.g4 Rad8 This was always my intention with me giving very little thought to 17...hxg4?! 18.h5 on general principle alone! 18.gxh5 In the post mortem my talented young FM opponent and myself both considered this to be critical. Showing some similarities to last month's encounter, certainly I was fine with the concept of 18.g5 Nf4 19.Qc3 Bd5 18...Nf4 Though I was always leaning towards this, I had certainly given some consideration to 18...Nb6 However whilst 19.Bd6 Nxc4 20.Bxc7 Rxd2 21.Nxd2 Bh6 was an exercise in calculation that possibly didn't end too badly, the scarier options 19 Bd3 and 19 Qg5 reminded me why I wanted my knight planted on f4, obstructing White's attack. 19.Bd6 Interestingly both my opponent and I considered this self-pin to be critical although White has a couple of obvious queen moves at his disposal: 19.Qc3 Nxh5 or 19...Bxc4 20.Qxc4 Nxh5 19.Qb4 a5 20.Qa4 Bxc4 or 20...Nxh5 and if 21.Nd6 then Re7 21.Qxc4 Nxh5 Perhaps objectively White is a tad better in each of those but there is no obvious breakthrough plan and the black king is certainly safe. 19...Qc8 Perhaps best although (with 10...Qd7 an option too) initially I was torn between this and 19...Qb6 On b6 the queen eyes up the b2 target as well as aquares along the diagonal to g1 but in the end I decided I'd still rather have her majesty involved on the kingside. 20.h6 I can assure you I looked at lines such as 20.hxg6 Bxc4 and 20...f5!? 21.gxf7+ and 21.h5!? 21...Bxf7 22.Rhg1 Qe6 with my conclusion being I didn't see any obvious loss and so hoped 'keeping my fingers crossed' would cut it! I expected the text rather than the likes of 20.Bb3 Bxb3 21.axb3 Nxh5 which would have left the black king safe. 20...Bxc4 I was quite content with this whereas 20...f5 21.hxg7 fxe4 22.h5 Bxc4 or 22...gxh5 23.Rxh5! Nxh5 24.Qh6 Nxg7 25.Rg1 23.hxg6 gave me a massive headache trying to analyse with 20...Bxh6 21.Nf6+ Kh8 22.Nxe8 Ne2+ 23.Bxe2 Bxd2+ 24.Rxd2 Rxe8 25.Bxe5+ followed by 26 h4-h5 not really appealing. The engine of course has it as totally equal but a combination of those weak dark squares and black queen inactivity left it to me at least an unattractive prospect. 21.hxg7 Qf5?! Upon reflection this was probably too provocative and I should simply have settled for 21...Qe6 Black would be threatening ...Be2 hitting the rook on d1 and the pawn on f3 and of course a2 with the queen, whilst 22.h5 gxh5 in similar fashion to the game, felt comfortable. My reasoning behind my choice though was that I wanted to keep the e6-square free for my rook in order to pile the pressure on White's pinned bishop. 22.h5 My idea was to 'tease the knight away from its strong post on e4' and meet 22.Ng3! only then with Qe6 and then Alternatively I felt 22...Rxd6 23.Qxd6 Ne2+ 24.Nxe2 Bxe2 25.Qd7 Qxd7 26.Rxd7 Bxf3 27.Rg1 Kxg7 28.Rxa7 Rh8 could wind up being a fun endgame (as 2 rooks V R and B can often be when connected passed pawns are in the mix) with the queen preserving 25...Re6!? also a more than valid alternative. 23.h5 with g5 i.e. 24.h6 Kh7 25.Ne4 f6 thinking I had a nice sort of light-squared blockade. The engine is somewhat less optimistic though considering 26.Qa5! to be seriously in White's favour and upon reflection (not wishing to see the white queen on the 7th rank followed by a g8=Q+), I'm probably forced to agree! 22...gxh5 Needless to say I was happy that I had made the decision to park my knight on f4 as it is obviously very inhibitive to White's attacking ambitions.. 23.Rdg1 I thought White might unpin his knight with 23.Qf2 Bd5 (threatening to take on e4) being game on. Instead my opponent was clearly determined to get that kingside breakthrough although despite bashing out his first 16 moves quickly, he was now short of time in his quest to reacxh move 40 (or mate me before then!). 23...f6 Instead I responded with the natural text as it covered g5 and facilitated the if required retreat ...Bf7. Unfortunately I wasn't far behind him on the clock and although I wouldn't be tempted by 23...Ne2+? 24.Kb1 Nxg1 25.Qh6! Qh7 26.Nf6# with a bit more invested time here I probably would have deployed 23...Re6! (as it was why I had put my queen on f5 in the first place!) with 24.Rg5? Qxg5! 25.Nxg5 Rexd6 26.Qe1 Note 26.Qf2 Ne2+ 27.Kb1 Rd1+ 26...Be2 a handy tactic! 24.Kb1 Interestingly plausible options like 24.b3 Bd5 25.Qe3 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Qe6 27.Bc5 Rd7 and 24.Qe3 Rd7 25.Bf8 felt just like messy positions to me as there is no imminent breakthrough for either side and plenty of imbalances. However whilst I wasn't too concerned, it's clear now that the engine though still likes White though! I remained very pleased at least that my knight was firmly engrained on f4 but my opponent thought he would take the check on e2 off the table anyhow. 24...Bd5 Simply threatening to win a pawn by trading on e4 although the likes of ...Rd7 and ...Re6 were also in my thoughts. 25.Qb4 Again 25.Qe3! Rd7 26.Bf8 would bring us to the previously discussed scenario where Black doesn't appear too troubled but nevertheless interestingly with no imminent threat, the engine clearly prefers White. 25...Qe6! I felt I could hold back on the minor piece trade for now and aside from my dwindling time situation felt quite content with my position. Black is after all threatening to win the bishop with a2 under scrutiny too. 26.Bf8 Bxa2+ 27.Ka1 Bd5 I've bagged a pawn yes but also hoped the a-file white king exposure could come in handy. 28.Rh4? With 28.Nc5 Qf5 29.Ne4 high up on the engine recommendation list, it's clear that there is no obvious way for White to improve but the text is probably detrimental. 28...Bxe4 29.Qxe4 Rd4 30.Qe3 Red8 Dominating the d-file (and threatening back rank mate!) felt wiser than 30...Ra4+ 31.Ba3 31.b3 Qf5 Or immediately 31...Rd1+ 32.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 33.Kb2 Qd7 34.Rh2 but on the spur of the moment I just felt like retaining all the major pieces... 32.Rh2 Rd1+ A thought which changed when I realised I had to get another 8 moves in to reach the time control! 33.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 34.Kb2 Qd7 Instinctively wishing to keep the c4-g8 diagonal under lock and key, I don't think I gave much thought to 34...Qg5‼ although with ...Nd3+ and ...Qg1 decisive ideas as well as a potential check on c1, that looks pretty strong! 35.Bc5 Preventing the queen trade via ...Qd4+. Qd5! Still dominating but how to make that breakthrough? 36.Rg2 Objectively a bad move but fantastic from a practical point of view and down to increment alone, definitely not what I wanted to see! h4 Unfortunately I had to prioritise in the few seconds figuring out whether or not I could just take the rook that White had just left en prise and then whether or not there was a threat! Back to the 'practice what I preach' concept and all my pupils will know that 'Look out for checks' is a big motto of mine and if I had any sort of time then I would easily have spotted 36...Nd3+! 37.cxd3 or 37.Ka2 Qxc5 38.Qh6 Qa5# 37...Rxd3 e.g. 38.Qc1 Qxb3+ 39.Ka1 Rd1 37.Rg4 Evidently I decided 'No' on both counts and found myself bashing out the h-pawn advance that facilitated the text and now a situation that could have gone horribly wrong! h3 Again 37...Nd3+! 38.cxd3 Rxd3 but alas in this tense finish I was focused on my kingside! 38.Rxf4 Another good practical shot when I was expecting to have everything under control after 38.Rh4 Kxg7 38...h2?? We now see a double blunder when the 'simple' 38...exf4! 39.Qe8+ Kxg7 40.Bf8+ Kg8 41.Be7+ Kh7 wouldn't in fact lead to a perpetual and 42.Bxf6 h2 just winning via 43.Qh8+ Kg6 (attacking the bishop!) 44.Qg7+ Kf5 45.Qg5+ Ke6 39.Rh4?? White's turn to hallucinate when in the game (albeit just a period of seconds!), I was becoming extremely anxious about 39.Rxf6! Fortunately for me it didn't happen but later analysis confirmed my fears that h1Q or 39...Rb1+ 40.Kxb1 h1Q+ 41.Kb2 40.Rf8+ Kxg7 41.Qg5+ Kh7 42.Qf5+ Kh6 43.Qf6+ Kh5 44.Rh8# would be mating with the 2 black queens unable to intervene. 39...h1Q 40.Rh8+ Kxg7! Again with the very reasonable excuse of time trouble, my opponent had overlooked this, assuming 40...Qxh8 41.gxh8Q+ Kxh8 to be forced when 42.Qh6+ Kg8 43.Qg6+ Kh8 44.Qxf6+ Kh7 45.Qf5+ Kg8 46.Qg6+ Kh8 etc. would be a perpetual. 41.Rxh1 On the other hand, with an additional 50 minutes added, my opponent finally had some time to realise he had erred and that the game was up. Highlighting how hazy things had become as a result of the time scramble, I had calculated that 41.Bf8+ Kf7 42.Qxa7+ Ke6 43.Qe7+ Kf5 would see the black king escape the checks before realising that instead on move 41 I could simply take the rook! 41...Rxh1 Things are hopeless for White who is the exchange and a pawn down with no chance of a perpetual. 42.Bxa7 Qa5! Threatening something that (with no satisfactory way of preventing) my opponent was a good sport to allow. 43.Qf2 Qa1# 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Cumming,R2360Ward,C23820–12023B764NCL Division Two11.31

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Sicilian Dragon: The Real Deal! Part 1,2 and 3 + Sicilian Dragon Powerbook + Powerbase

In this first part, the emphasis is on themes and ideas whereas Part 2 and 3 focus on theoretical knowledge!

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Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.
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